[Tumors of the ribs in children]

We here present a review of ten pediatric patients with rib tumors that were treated in our hospital since 1970: a juvenile bone cyst, an aneurysmal bone cyst, an eosinophilic granuloma, a Ewing sarcoma, a metastasis of a neuroblastoma, an osteochondroma, a hemangiopericytoma, and a callous tumor at the site of a previous single rib fracture. The relative frequency of rib tumors is similar to that of bone tumors in other locations. A biopsy of the affected bone should be the first step of the operative intervention. As demonstrated in a case of eosinophilic granuloma, the indication for subperiosteal rib resection can be defined generously. A completed regrowth of the rib defect can be expected. Even the loss of a complete rib is generally well tolerated, as shown in an infant with an aneurysmal bone cyst, a rare disease in this age group. Malignant tumors of the chest wall, however, require special experience in thoracic surgery and necessitate close interdisciplinary cooperation. Complete primary resection of a malignant rib tumor and its plastic reconstruction is demonstrated in a case of a Ewing sarcoma in childhood. In children and adolescents a vicryl net should generally be used to reconstruct extended chest wall defects reliably and functionally stable.